Billy Bedlam

William Bedford, aka "Billy Bedlam", is one of the two secondary antagonists in the film Con Air and Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom's left-hand man. He is a convict guilty of murdering an entire family due to a combination of an unfaithful spouse and an irrational mental instability. Billy Bedlam is portrayed by Nick Chinlund.

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Billy Bedlam is a convict, guilty of murdering his wife's lover after catching them both in an adulterous relationship. He then proceeded to murder her entire family (including the dog). Facing 8 consecutive life sentences, Bedlam was incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison. He was apparently familiar with the prison's north block, where he eventually got to know all of its 159 fellow inmates.

Billy Bedlam arrives at Vacaville, CA to undergo a separatee transfer to a supermax facility in Mobile, AL. Being put in one of the higher security cages, Bedlam keeps a permanent icy glare towards everyone, both fellow convict and guard alike. He especially notices Cameron Poe, an honorably discharged U.S. Army Ranger taking notice of him, to which Poe remains unshaken by Bedlam's intimidating demeanor.

Soon thereafter, the plane is hijacked by fellow convicts, lead by Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom. With a transfer in Carson City, NV to be performed en route to Mobile, Grissom follows the plan as expected, much to Bedlam's shock. Three volunteers are required and Bedlam bluntly refuses, considering his expected prison sentence. The transfer is nevertheless successful and the Jailbird proceeds to Lerner Airfield, where a final escape jet awaits.

During the flight, Bedlam suspiciously questions Poe's history at San Quentin and does not recognize him from the north block. Poe cleverly dismisses the suspicion, adding that he didn't want to know anyone while he was incarcerated.

Bedlam meets his end shortly later when he investigates Poe's personal belongings in the plane's cargo hold and discovers a letter of parole, identifying Poe as a free man, plus a birthday gift for his daughter Casey. When Poe orders Bedlam to put the gift back in the box, Bedlam simply laughs angrily and attacks him. After a brief struggle, Poe impales Bedlam on a exposed pipe, killing him.

Plain and simply, Bedlam was a sadistic, mentally unstable and mass-murdering psychopath with a very violent personality which unsurprisingly causes most of the prisoners to be slightly afraid and cautious of Billy. Even fellow convict and serial killer Garland Greene takes into notice that Bedlam "holds a lot of anger" and speculates that the cause of Bedlam's personality is the result of a few possibilities (i.e. a coddling or neglectful mother, unwelcome schoolmates, compromising relative), which cause any joy he feels to be painful. Despite his violent and intimidating nature, he has some fear towards Cyrus "The Virus", as Cyrus proves to be more dangerous than him.

Bedlam's disappearance remains no concern to anyone until later when the plane lands at Lerner Airfield. A convoy of police and SWAT Team members are approaching to apprehend the convicts. Grissom locates the plane's weapon supply and discovers Bedlam's body in the cargo hold. It is unknown whether his body was discarded or left inside the plane, but after escaping from Lerner, Grissom adds the killing of Bedlam to a list of traitorous deeds done by someone aboard.